When dividing a tablet with a cutting line into halves, there have been employed scissors, knives, cutters or tablet cutters. When using such tools, the tablet is generally cut in such a manner that the cutting edge of the tool is applied to the cutting line of the tablet in the case of scissors, knives or cutters, while there are some conventional tablet cutters in which the tablet is cut in such a manner that the cutting line of the tablet is applied to the cutting edge of the tool. On the other hand, in the tablet cutter disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-95836, the tablet is cut in such a manner that the cutting edge of the tool is applied to the cutting line of the tablet.
In the tablet cutters other than that disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-95836, the position and/or the tablet is limited and since the tablet is cut in such a manner that the cutting line of the tablet is applied to the cutting edge of the tool, to apply the cutting line of the tablet is not easy and is troublesome, whereby the work is not efficient and shift is apt to be generated, when a tablet is divided.
Further, when scissors where a tablet is cut while grasping the tablet are used, the efficiency is low and the tablet can be dropped after the division since the work must be done grasping the tablet with the hand though the cut surface is clean.
Further, in the method of cutting a tablet disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-95836, since cutting a tablet is done applying the cutting edge to the cutting line of the tablet, there is a fear that the tablet can jump out after dividing when the ceiling portion of the hollow column is opened and low and when the hollow column is of a hard and chemical-resistant resin such as acrylic resin and the cutting edge is fixed with its back in a direct contact with chemical-resistant resin such as acrylic resin, the hard and chemical-resistant resin can be cracked by the back of the cutting edge before about twenty pieces of tablets are cut due to impact during the cutting though cutting the tablet can be efficiently done and the tablet seldom scatters after dividing. Anyway, the method of fixing the cutting edge is not sufficiently described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-95836.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an improved tablet cutter which is obtained by improving a tablet cutter disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-95836 so that the tablet cannot jump out after dividing and crack is hard to be generated in the hollow column around the back of the cutting edge even if the hollow column is formed of a hard and chemical-resistant resin such as acrylic resin, and the cutting edge is hard to be shifted in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.